Ian C Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 A friend of mine has a nice private plate on a rustbucket that hasn't had an MOT for about 8 years. New rules I think say that you can't transfer a plate off a car without a valid MOT, it goes back to the DVLA to resell if you scrap the car (yes, it's a cheap moneygrab, no surprise there) If the MOT failing was just because of (swathes of) rust near seatbelt/suspension points, would it be plausible to do a quick P40/P38 filler job, a spray of paint, and try to hustle it through an MOT? Or have we misinterpreted the law and there is a way of getting the plate transferred/sold without an MOT? -Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 I believe you can do something like that. Nothing can be removed for an MOT inspection so if you tidied it up, it should be OK. I was in a similar scenario a while back, managed to find a friendly MOT station who sympathised with me and helped me out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Bear in mind, it hasn't moved for 8 years, it's gonna cost a fortune to put back on the road. Even if you managed to find a tester bent enough to give you a dial-a-mot, DVSA reaerve the right to inspect the vehicle. It says on the paperwork for the plate transfer "Please make sure the vehicle is available for inspection". Best thing to do, if it hasn't been done already, is MOT the car and see what loopholes can be exploited. I.e. Seat belt mounts - No seat means it's no longer a seatbelt mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted August 7, 2015 Author Share Posted August 7, 2015 Considering it hadn't moved for 8 years, we got it fired up last year, changed oil and fluids, new tyres etc and it does actually drive (it's a Volvo 480, built tough back then I guess!). The only currently insurmountable issue is the big rust holes. I like your thinking Benjy, I know there is an MOT thing like "if it's there it should comply but if it isn't then ignore it" but do seatbelts come under that rule? Or is there a list of "every car should have these" or "if it was built with it, it should have it"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted August 7, 2015 Author Share Posted August 7, 2015 Wait, did you mean "no seatbelts" or literally "no seat"?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig85 Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 https://www.gov.uk/personalised-vehicle-registration-numbers/retaining-a-registration-number Can't see anything on here that says you need an MOT and I can't think why you would need one in the first place to do this. Although it says to return an MOT certificate with the retention form, that's only so they can update the certificate with the new registration. I imagine you just send your SORN declaration instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 https://www.gov.uk/personalised-vehicle-registration-numbers/retaining-a-registration-number Can't see anything on here that says you need an MOT and I can't think why you would need one in the first place to do this. Although it says to return an MOT certificate with the retention form, that's only so they can update the certificate with the new registration. I imagine you just send your SORN declaration instead It's usually because it needs to be taxed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig85 Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Nope, includes SORN cars too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Nope, includes SORN cars too Within 5 years, this has been off the road 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig85 Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Apologies, I missed that in the first post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Wait, did you mean "no seatbelts" or literally "no seat"?! If you remove all but the drivers seat, there is only one seat to test. If you remove a seat, the belt for that belt is no longer a seat belt, but a strap where a seat used to be and so not subject to test. I.e. If there ain't no seat, no-one's gonna need a seatbelt. Best thing would be to MOT it first, see what it fails on, see what needs repairing and what you can "get around". If lights don't work, you can remove all of them. All a tester can do in that instance is to advise "no lights fitted at time of test", provided that the vehicle is presented for test on a clear, dry day. Sharp edges and protrusions - cover them with gaffa tape... So on and so forth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted August 8, 2015 Author Share Posted August 8, 2015 Thanks for all that I had a look at the online plate retention service here: https://www.gov.uk/keep-registration-number And I note it says: Your vehicle must be: registered with DVLA taxed or have a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) in place within the last 5 years available for inspection Well, he's got all that - there is a bit of a SORN gap in the past but it's SORNed right now, so really I think he can probably hoik the plate off right now, without an MOT or tax. Maybe it'll take a while as they'd want to inspect it but the car exists so no worries there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 You could be right Ian. I had read it that it needed to be made SORN within the last 5 years, as in prior to that it was on the road. Could you post the outcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Also, when they say "available for inspection" they won't be coming out to see the car - they'll expect you to take it to their premises (for me this was Southampton). This is how I lost my amazing private plate, I didn't have time to get it to the inspection before the car was going :'( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Don't forget a rust repair does not have to look pretty, have future rust protection etcetera. So long as the structure is sound at the time of the test, it should pass. My old friend used to have a bent DVLA man who thought he fancied him. A couple of pints at lunchtime and he'd transfer a number from a nuclear sub..... Sadly the DVLA man found a long term woofta mate and moved away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 Probably not a regularly occurring option, Chris OK if we can't just get the plate off, it'll be the biggest MOT-pass-bodge ever instead. There may be photos of the horror. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Looking forward to them, let's see just how cheaply you can get it through a test Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 Righto, I checked the form that you use to remove the plate (V317) and it's got this little gem: "We will not accept an application for a vehicle that has been declared off road (SORN) for more than 5 years" Which is a shame as it's been ten So plan B is to coax it through one last MOT, nab the plate, and chuck it into a woodchipper afterwards. Attached is the comedy MOT list, and my annotations based on what's been said on here for the cheapest and easiest way of getting it through. Clearly we don't give a toss about advisories The question mark over the front brakes is because he's got aftermarket Wilwood ones fitted - I think it'll be easiest to chuck on a set of stock front calipers/disks/pads off a scrapper rather than try and diagnose/rebuild aftermarket jobbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Be careful with the rear seatbelt removal - they might just flip the fail onto suspension prescribed area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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